NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Monday night that the Philadelphia 76ers are again "actively involved" in the Brand hunt after initially fearing that they couldn't compete financially with the Clippers and Golden State Warriors.

Although the leaguewide consensus remains that Brand will return to Hollywood to form a new partnership with Clipper-to-be Baron Davis, sources reveal that the Sixers are growing increasingly confident in their ability to create additional salary-cap space by finding a new home via trade for swingman Rodney Carney and then make a sufficiently rich offer to Brand...

...separate sources suggested Monday that Brand -- if he's ultimately drawn away from his Face of the Franchise status with the Clippers -- would be more inclined to jump to Philadelphia than Golden State, given the Sixers' residence in a conference with far fewer contenders than the West and the opportunity to join a young Philly nucleus (Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala and considerable wingspan of center Samuel Dalembert) that won many admirers as last season progressed.

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Comments

EB/His agent want the no trade clause from the Clippers. EB for practical reasons; his agent for ego/business purposes.

Since we're fans, we're impatient and hysterical to find out what EB will decide. The man has every right to listen to all offers and make the decision on his time (esp. if he's leaving money on the table). That said, even amidst all the ESPN articles, Brand leaving is still considered a long-shot.

I"m guessing the lack of comments is from the shock of that Rodney trade news this morning. It's over people. Brand is out the door (not official). I can't wait to hear his reasons why after all he said publically to stay if they got a topflight point guard. Unbelievable.

Wow the Philly news this AM is certainly interesting..EB's agent is either using them as leverage to get something more from the Clips OR maybe, just maybe, EB is just not sold on the current coach/GM and his abilities to make correct decisions both on the floor and with regards to personnel.

To me, if he does take another deal elsewhere, it's definitely an indictment on the Clips management/coach and shows that when you continually make wrong decisions, you have to pay for them at some point. It'll suck beyond belief if it ends up costing EB but who would blame him? You simply cannot mismanage half the damn roster for years and expect your most prized asset to stick it out. What would sting even more is BD saying he'd come and EB still bolts, that to me sounds far-fetched but it is the Clips we're talking about.

On the other side, if the Clips are able to pull this together somehow, it's nothing more than them finding a way to save their ass at the last minute and on the heels of several bad moves that have put them in this situation. With this in mind, the Clips aren't exactly negotiating from a position of strength and it's feasible that he could bolt for what he sees as a better situation.

Either way, I will have no hard feelings towards EB. Clips management and the dunce would be an entirely different story with all blame squarely placed here if indeed he does end up leaving town.

The management has been garbage, the only reason the Clippers ever made the playoffs is because of ELTON BRAND. Not management, not Dumbleavy. Elton Brand carried the Clippers to the playoffs. With a ton of help from Corey.

And most of the success the Clippers have encountered was with Corey on the floor. I dont think either Corey or Elton want to leave, theyve been here 8 years, but the coaching and management situation isnt conducive to a healthy team environment when your coach undercuts the GM, works out trades for one of your best players behind everyones backs, benches one of his best players to start a D-leaguer, or generally doesnt play his players to their strengths. Dunleavy couldnt even take two teams with all-stars and future hall of famers past the second round, even when they were 25m over the salary cap. He benched Jermaine O'Neal to play Detlef Schrempf and Dale Davis. The guy doesnt recognize talent even if its spitting in his face. His career losing record is yet another testament to his profound mediocrity.

Signing Baron was a coup, but if I am wanting a ring, I know for sure I wont be getting one with Mike Dunleavy calling plays in the last 2 minutes of a game. I'd much rather Jeff Van Gundy was drawing X's and O's for me when the games on the line.

The Clippers should fire Dunleavy and hire Van Gundy and then offer Corey the full MLE to show Elton that they are committed to turning the corner with this franchise and start winning and that if he's going to sign for less, that we're going to keep guys with him that he works well with.

I think that would show him how serious he is to the franchise and that any success we can possibly have begins with him.

I think (hope and pray) the sixers are getting more cash to go after Josh Smith who they brought in to Philly recently. Going after Elton would be there 2nd option.

As for Corey, there is no way he's coming back to the Clippers, especially with Dunleavy as a coach, and for Corey's sake he shouldn't come back if Dumbleavy is a coach. Hopefully we can get Brand and Davis together, Dunleavy out by midseason, and a playoff push in the 2nd half of the season (throw in Brent Barry and I'm happy). If we get BD and EB locked up for 5 years, in 2 years we are going to have a lot of cap space when we clear Tim Thomas & Cuttino Mobley to get the final missing piece to win a championship.

ACD..the Clips and the dunce have been chasing their tail for several years.

You cannot guess wrong in the draft and free agency and trade players with upside and end up with T2 and expect your best asset to blindly go along with your shitty plan forever.

If EB decides to stay, it'll be because he had so few options and BD agreed to come play here, he likes LA etc. You should not confuse this with the dunce somehow geniusly orchestrating this, or because Jerdog says he's some sort of genius businessman. I would argue that the Clips would not be in this position had they not made so many damn terrible moves over the last few years that have bled into this mess.

Q.D. Elgin has very little influence these days, it's all MD and to a lesser degree Roeser. Somehow the dunce has convinced DTS that he's all knowing, and has been given license to do what he wants. You are right that Elgin needs to be replaced with a strong GM. His first order of business should be removing the dunce.

Should the EB and BD signings ever happen for the Clips, then all the attention moves to the dunce and his brilliant coaching skills and wether for once he decides to install an offense that brings the best out in the players he has rather than shove a pre-historic offensive system on them and micro-manage/call every play

why would you walk just cuz eb leaves? there are plenty of guys we can get if he walks, my feeling is that the clips know whats going on and have a fall back plan, remember, nobody saw the bd move coming...have faith clipper nation, if eb turns his back on us, then we will turn our back on him and move, the sad thing is i sit in front of daisy, his mom, and she is really sweet.

I don't know, ACD, but these things typically play into decisions people make. Especially when you are EB and you are deciding where you will be calling home for the next several years, and this is your lone shot to set yourself up with a winning atmosphere to play. The fact that you continue to bury your head in the sand about the dunce while never analyzing why the Clips are where they are, is so comical to me. But then again, if you don't get it by now you probably never will.

If it's true, the fact that the Clips won't give EB a no-trade and/or a 6th year..things that only they can do but no one else can..hello leverage..is highly clipper-like of them.

Something doesn't smell right with this at all cause these things seem like things that you most certainly would give to a player of EB's stature. It almost sounds like a Clips spin-control for being spurned by EB to go elsewhere.

I would walk if I was EB for sure, speaking of the lack of a no-trade and a 6th year. I wonder if this impacts BD's oral agreement as well. If it was me, it certainly would.

I'd walk because if EB walks, no one else will want to come to the Clippers. Like Stephen Smith said on ESPN the other night, the Clips are viewed by the league as the NBA's farm. They're a doormat for players to reach bigger and better teams.

EB's loyalty was our only shot at getting fans and players to take the team seriously and go deep into the playoffs. He has LA in the palm of his hand and can call the team his own for his entire career if he chooses. Instead, it's look like it will be all about the benjamins. If he says some Wallace shit about feeding his family, he'll be dead to me.

Don't get me wrong, I hope he stays. But it's looking less and less certain by the hour...

Something weird is going on here. None of these Brand actions are making any sense. The guy gave his word, and with the Brand that we have come to know over the years, that should be enough. Brand is supposed to be better than all the Wallace's and Kobe's out there. That is his charm. That is his appeal. I would have expected anyone else to walk out given the chance, especially given the Dunce and surrounding fools, but I expect better of Brand; I expect him to be the one different guy in the NBA. No reason for me to be a Clippers fan or even an NBA fan if Brand walks.

Drew - Sprewell, not Rasheed, made the remark about feeding his family.

Not offering the no trade clause would be a mistake if that's what EB wants/needs to close the deal. If EB doesn't want a 6 year deal, as has been widely reported, then not offering a 6th year makes perfect sense. EB's negotiating position on no 6th year takes away the Clips leverage in that respect and you cannot blame the Clips for that -- you can blame them, however, for not offering the no trade clause when the money is more favorable elsewhere and the no trade clause can only be offered by the Clips.

I don't believe the Clippers are failing to offer a no-trade clause. Why would they not offer that? It's easy, they are not going to trade him anyway and they are getting to lock him in for his workmanlike services at slightly below market rates. Makes no sense to not give it to him if that is what he is really after. I believe this is more nonsense, just like that Denevy article referenced earlier that was wrong in every possible way.

I really really can't believe that Brand would back away after essentially luring his apparent buddy Baron Davis to the Clippers. That would be beyond low. Lower than anyone would believe possible. You wouldn't even expect that out of some low life scum. Why are we even talking about this. There is not a chance in hell that Brand is going anywhere unless there is something HUGE that we don't know about. It is weird though and I just refuse to believe that this is some orchestrated phony baloney charade that doesn't need to happen.

It makes even less sense that it is Philly we are talking about. They don't quite suck but they are not any good either and the Clippers are the better team right now. Philadelphia is a true rat hole and Brand is a Hollywood guy with big time LA ties now.

20 million (10 million after taxes and agent) over 5 years (two million per year) to a guy who is already rich beyond belief and is will be making 14 million per year is not HUGE. It can't be about the money. That is something you would like to believe hater boy but it doesn't ring true in this case.

It must be as TW suspects - that EB can't take anymore of the Dunce (if he leaves).

Mike has a point. It makes no sense to withhold a no-trade clause from Elton. And, as tw said, this may be spin-control, which would unfortunatley proves KA's most cynical assumption made in his previous post.

KA's most cynical sense may be correct and the Clips called his bluff. Now Brand is in a terrible position. He wanted out (because of the Dunce and poor management) and then Baron decides to drop in on Corey's opt out. This requires us to believe that Baron decides to sign all on his own and without talking to Elton. Possible? Maybe. But it is a fact that the Dunce was unaware of the Baron opt out and interest in the Clips. So how likely would it be that if Baron talks to Brand that he totally keeps it from the Dunce. I continue to refuse to believe that Davis would opt out and swoop in on Maggette's opt out without talking to Brand. I can see how Brand might not talk to the Dunce to build a wall between perhaps his agents discussions of orchestration and the Clips management. So I must now after consideration reject KA's most cynical theory.

The whole thing makes absolutely zero sense. There's no way the Clips don't give EB a no-trade if he wants it, right? If that's the case, someone needs to remind DTS and Clips management that they are still the Clippers and you give that to EB all day long.

With regards to the 6th year, if EB has indeed said he's not interested in that, then this may be the most telling sign that he had no interest in re-upping with the Clips all along. If he wanted to stay in LA, this along with the no-trade gave them leverage over outside suitors, and thus if EB has taken that away, I see that as an act towards angling his way out of town if another option presented itself.

These things along with reading that the Clips have had very little contact with EB over the past few days is not good news.

Damn, with BD presumably in the fold, and the $$ somewhat close AND even though he'd have to deal with the dunce, staying in LA seemed like a no-brainer only a few days ago. Now it seems like EB could very well be orchestrating his exit, and one cannot help but look for reasons why this would be the case...and I don't see any besides the dunce and clips inept mis-management over the years.

Jeff Van Gundy is a brilliant coach. He didnt work out that great in Houston during his tenure, mainly because of TMac and his lazy eye and thick head, but Yao definitely learned and matured a lot when JVG was his coach. TMac has been the problem with Houston's underachieving, not the coaches. Tmac was Orlandos problem too, not Grant Hill's injury. After Van Gundy left, Houston had one of the tightest defenses in the western conference. His mark was made. The team was responding, but of course because that period of his coaching record didnt end well many people have bad things to say about him.

Look back though at NY, with Sprewell and the other assorted hotheads on the Knicks that Van Gundy coached. He got every one of those guys to buy into the system and they took the Knicks all the way to the Eastern Championship. That Knicks team was fantastic, Kurt Thomas would have never played as many years as he did without that experience. Van Gundy is also a defensive genius, and he understands the game in, through and out, at a level that dwarfs Dunleavy's and then some. Sure he gets a little emo when his guys dont perform and he goes and sobs to the media, but his pedigree is immaculate. His family has generations of coaching experience. I mean, he made Latrell Sprewell an All-Star again after he choked out Carlesimo. If you want to blame anything on Van Gundy, blame the fact guys like Kurt Thomas and Latrell Sprewell were signed for 3 times what they were worth once they left. That's definitely Van Gundy's fault.

Van Gundy is an exponential improvement over Dunleavy, and he has playoff experience, hes great with young and troubled players, and is a master of defensive sets. He's a great choice for this team, especially when hes got guys that can defend and ignite fast breaks off turnovers. This team was made for a guy like Van Gundy, and he knows what plays to call in the final minutes of a game without micro managing his team into a 10 point blowout.

Id give Avery a shot, but hes just not as experienced as Van Gundy is. He had a stacked Dallas team, but how would he do with a team not so talented? If he couldnt win with the Mavericks and the lineup he had against the Warriors 2 years back, what makes him the best choice to be coach for the Clippers whove got significantly less talent?

Van Gundy is the best coach on the market right now. Skiles too, but hes too much of a hard ass and control freak to really nurse the best out of this team. Larry Brown did good stuff when he was here before, but hes in Charlotte now.

Dunleavy needs to go. Hes been a cancer to the teams chemistry and removing him would go a long way towards showing the other players that there is structure and order in the organization and a will to win. Letting him remain to undercut people, grudge-bench players, and push for terrible long term deals on extremely bad players puts the team at risk more and more every day.

Fire Dunleavy and a lot of the anger the players feel will all of a sudden evaporate.

tw - the reports about EB not wanting a 6th year have all attributed it to the "Over-36 Rule." This is discussed in the post titled "Idle Weekend Chatter" from 7/6. Bottom line, EB is doing the smart thing and setting up this deal to avoid complications with the "Over-36 Rule" on his next deal. I don't think it has anything to do with the Clips/Dunleavy or EB's desire to return to the Clips -- by taking a 5 year deal instead of 6 year deal EB sets himself up to get one more big contract after this one by avoiding the "Over-36 Rule."

The no trade clause is an entirely different issue -- if the Clips are really refusing to do this then there is nothing they can offer over the Warriors or 76ers.

note the 4:52 update on the Stein article- he's changed the tenor of the piece, taking away the implication that Brand will probaby re-sign with the Clippers. All signs seem to point to Philly. Remember last week Brand flew to D.C. to meet with Falk and it was reported that they went to Philly to meet with the Sixers. So it seems the Sixers are clearing cap space in response to that meeting.

I feel that Elton will be back, my only concern is that with all the focus now on re-signing him, we still need to focus on who we are going to bring in as some back-up help. Sure DeAndre and Gordon are great picks, but losing Maggette leaves us with an open small forward spot (to back up Thorton) and hopefully we can get a veteran up in here (and not resign Q Ross, unless it is for the minimum, but even then I'd hate to see him and Dumbleavy together because of Dumbleavy's inability to play the best players).

Do we have the veteran's minimum to try to sway a player like Brent Barry or James Posey?

Ric Bucher was on ESPN, he stated the only way the clips lose on Brand is that they don't want to pony up the money. BUT he says the clippers are the front runner and Brand would not have had a handshake deal w/ Baron prior to free agency. If he leaves, this would take a huge hit on his reputation.

And this is not Brand, but Falk's deal. He hasn't had a big client since MJ and this is his payday.

So Who do you trust from all the Chatter? Stein? Bucher? Hollinger? Abbott?

ric bucher can never be trusted, he's an unreliable journalist. He's the guy last summer reporting as fact that Kobe Bryant has played his last game with the Lakers - over and over again- not to mention many other falsities. It's a joke that ESPN keeps him around.

This is a HORRIBLE day if the Philly stuff ends up being true. Of all the players i've followed through the years Brand has always been a favorite because of his blue-collar work ethic and outstanding character. To pull this now and go back on his word would be a seriously shocking sign that you can't really trust anybody at all, even the ones who you most wanted to trust. :(

It is going to be a very dark day in Clipper Land if Brand bolts and I don't think Davis signs without Brand.
Also, Mickael Pietrus is going to Orlando for the full MLE, so this means Corey is not going to Orlando.

Maybe the reason the Clippers didn't negotiate more is that they don't have any more cap space as I have been saying all along. All of this is fixed. They only have so much money so there isn't a lot of negotiate money wise. Yeah, sure they could clean out some scrubs for a few more dollars and then have no bench. Is that what Brand is all about? Cleaning out the bench? Getting some scrubs that bust their ass to take the minimum so that he can get 15 rather than 14 million a year?

What a guy.

I totally had this guy misread. It was Corey the mensche all along and Brand . . .

If the report of the Clips rather brazen 'take it or leave it' stance to EB is indeed true, and he leaves as a result....tell me Jerdog, would this be Dunleavy the genius businessman and his infinite wall street wisdom/background making shit happen once again ??

That's not what I would call good business or tact given the leverage and negotiation position each party holds in this. And this coming from the dunce, the walking talking wrong decision waiting to happen. Ya, if I'm EB I'm slightly offended by this given who it's coming from. Utterly classic.

That to me is still the most laughable take I have read here on this blog..ever. And ACD has said alot of stupid shit here so that says alot.

you got to love the schizo journalist on espn - report confidently one thing and then another thing later - they rely on sources with agenda without looking at the big picture...biggest example is Bucher's awful reporting on Kobe last summer, when his source was the nutcase Kobe himself - without thinking that maybe Kobe is talking out of his ass... and then the journalist's are not held accountable - it's high comedy

I know there must have been other factors, but when you look at it for its face value, the Clippers offered 5 years 75 million, reports are saying the Sixers are offering 5 years 80 million. Brand made it seem like his main concern from the minute he opted out was making sure the clippers signed a valuable free agent and showed improvements in wanting to win. They did that, as a matter of fact they even got THE GUY Brand himself said he wanted. Now he is gonna leave because the Clippers didn't up their offer? As someone else on here already said, to do that they'd have to cut roster spots and deplete the already thin bench. So basically when it came down to it Brand put more money above the team's interests. If the money is close, why not stay with the city/team you TOLD you loved and had all intentions of re-signing with?

Where is the money coming from hater? WHat is he leveraging when there is nothing to leverage?

Brand's word is meaningless. What a bum, and he is the last person I thought I would say that about. It just goes to show that you never know the person no matter how much you read about them or watch them or think they are some great character. It goes for neighbors, co-workers, and public figures. You just never know what they are about.

There have been way too many rumors and way too many different reports for people on here to be already hating on Elton when he hasn't gone back on his word yet. He has remained quiet, as we know Elton to do, let's just wait this thing out and then if he does sign with Philly, boo the living shit out of him every time he plays here and protest every movie he ever does. Until then, long live EB!

Mike, why are the Sixers able to clear cap space but the Clipper cannot?

Someone shed some light on this por favor cause it doesn't seem like $5M or so would cause EB to leave LA for Philly UNLESS there's something else to this that EB has been keeping a tight lid on.

Hint: it may be his lack of believing in the clipper product/decision making or maybe it's just the dunce.

Or maybe it's contracts like T2 and Mobley's and the few million more than deserved the Clips gave Kaman. Can't the Clips trade Brevin Knights sorry ass away to clear a couple million? Why the hell don't the Clips have a couple aces in the hole for shit like this ???

All for a true sh@thole like Philadelphia. And he leaves the Clips after playing 8 games for them last year. So he got paid a whole years salary to rehab and feels like he can just screw his former team over 5 million for a multi multi millionaire. This guy (if true) is lower than whale shit.

Maybe they could trade away someone but their options are limited. Philly traded players away, whoops I mean gave players away, to clear space by obtaining some obscure exception from Minn. I don't imagine their are many of those things floating around. I'll admit the whole salary cap thing sounds crazy and I don't pretend to understand how it all works but the bottom line is that Brand led the Clippers to believe he was all about winning and that he was willing to sacrifice to better the team. Turns out he was all about the money and couldn't care less about his word or the team or poor Baron Davis.

All the signs pointed to this, they just didn't make any sense because we thought Brand was a man of his word. Turns out we all has the misread on Brand and were not able to correctly interpret what was going on. It never made any sense that there was some cover-up tour. What was he doing in Philly if not serious? Replace our perception of Brand with our perception of some average player and we would have known he was going to Philly. Show Mr. Brand the MONEY! HE's gots to get paid.

No quotes from EB = We don't believe any of the BS the media tells us.

EB has been silent since he's opted out last week. He hasn't given the media a single statement. He's the hottest free agent on the market right now, so of course reporters are going to try and spice the situation up. Until EB says he's leaving, we can't pass judgment upon him.

WOW @ the reality setting in with the Times reporting on it. They wouldn't normally publish a story unless they felt there was a strong chance it's true. Look at this part here near the end of the times article:

"The Clippers then boosted their offer to Brand to five years and $80 million by renouncing the rights to other players, but it wasn't enough to re-sign him. The Warriors had tendered Brand a five-year, $90-million offer."

The front office seems to have tried and yet Brand still chose to backstab all us loyal fans. Wow.

So the Clips even did go so far as to clean off the bench players so Mr. Money Brand could get his extra Rolls Royce (never can have enough of those things) at the expense of the team having anything at all on the bench. And, this was still not enough.

Now it all makes sense. When I heard they released Paul Davis and somebody else I didn't see why they were doing that. Just trying to take away Paul Davis's livlihood so Elton can have some more chump change.

The Philadelphia 76ers have apparently won the Elton Brand free-agent sweepstakes.

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that Brand has informed the Sixers that he will accept a five-year deal worth an estimated $82 million and spurn what was presumed to be a slam-dunk return to the Los Angeles Clippers to hook up with Clipper-to-be Baron Davis.

The Sixers cannot formally sign Brand before midnight, with Wednesday serving as the first day that NBA teams can officially complete signings and trades after the lifting of a leaguewide moratorium which began July 1.

This is crazy disappointing. There's ways to do things, and if Brand would have just came out said "I'm looking for the most money and don't wanna stay with LA" when he opted out, I wouldn't be this angry. But to play that "I want to come back and sacrifice for my team" story out to the media and get all us fans hopes up, just to change at the last minute and screw us over is wrong as hell. Integrity really is done, so much for Mr. Honest good citizen Elton Brand, he just joined the Carlos Boozer club of liars.

By the way, why is it okay for teams like the shitty ass T-Wolves to basically give away 3 million to the Sixers and then take some bums on their team just to allow the Sixers to sign Brand? What does Minnesota get out of the deal? Philly was allowed to trade away players for absolutely nothing and ruin the Clippers shot to keep their star. Is no one else sick of the NBA?

If Brand indeed goes through with his apparent intent to join the Sixers, such an outcome is bound to be widely branded as a shocker after he and agent David Falk announced last week that Brand was opting out of the final year of his previous contract (worth $16.4 million) to give the Clippers more payroll flexibility to strengthen the team around Brand. Within 24 hours, L.A. responded on the first day of free agency by reaching a verbal agreement with Davis in what easily ranks as the biggest free-agent coup in Clippers history.

Brand told ESPN.com on June 30 that his "intention is to stay" with the Clippers, while Falk spoke optimistically of Brand signing a deal to "finish his career with the Clippers" if the team could make another significant personnel acquisition or two. ESPN.com reported late last week that Davis was the player Brand specifically asked Clippers management to chase in June.

The Clippers, sources said, expected to respond to the departures of Brand and Maggette by making a hard run at Atlanta Hawks restricted free agent Josh Smith, who was Philadelphia's No. 2 target behind Brand. If the Clippers elect to sign Smith to an offer sheet, Atlanta would have seven days to match.

Corey went to GSW for $10M a year. Thats, what, $5m a year over all the other offers? I think any of us would take that in a heartbeat.

And dont blame Elton. When you have a WINNING ORGANIZATION, players tend to stay. Especially in a market the size of LA, the weather, the whole ball of wax. If you have an organization as committed to winning as the Lakers, players will come to you for less. When you have a sinking ship, people tend to disembark. This team is a disaster, people count the days down on their calendar when they can leave. For years, thats been the legacy of the Clippers.

We've got a sinking ship. DTS needs to decapitate this beast of a team and make a completely new top-down start.

When your two best players walk away and you get nothing out of the deal....its time for a wholesale change of direction.

I wouldnt be mad at Baron Davis if he backed out either. In fact, I would if I were him. Theres a huge lesson that needs to be learned here and he might as well be the cherry on top.

There is no hope. There is only picking up whats left of our pride and starting over.

Elton gave us 8 years and a chance at greatness. What did we give him? A 5 year $75m deal without the no trade he wanted, Tim Thomas, Cuttino Mobely and Mike fuckin Dumbleavy.

No wonder he left.

07/09/08 04:48:12

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